Canon Oceania awards four grants to impactful Aussie groups

Canon Oceania has announced the winners of its 2024 Grants Program, which recognises four Australian organisations making significant impacts within their local communities. The programme, which includes categories for Community, Education, Environment, and a new First Nations category, awards each recipient a grant totalling AUD $5,000. This comprises AUD $2,500 in cash and AUD $2,500 in Canon products such as cameras, lenses, printers, and other accessories.

One of the notable winners in the Community category is The Reconnect Project. This initiative works to bridge Australia's digital divide by distributing refurbished mobile technology to disadvantaged individuals and communities, such as women's shelters, homelessness agencies, refugee support services, at-risk youth outreach programmes, and mental health recovery facilities. Additionally, it trains neurodivergent young adults in both technical and soft skills through its Mobile Device Repair Training Program. Annette Brodie, Founder and CEO of The Reconnect Project, commented, "Winning the 2024 Canon Oceania Grants Program Community grant is a huge boost for The Reconnect Project. With Canon camera and audio equipment, we can create interactive training materials, imperative for us to deliver our training program to people via distance learning. Everyone should be able to access quality tech repair services and growing our network of qualified tech repairers in rural and remote areas means better services for those communities."

The new First Nations category was awarded to the Kimberley Ecosystem Restoration & Cypress Pine Conservation Project. This project aims to expand the Cypress Pine population, a species historically significant to the Kimberley region, thereby supporting ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change. Donny Imberlong, Founder of the project, commented, "I am honoured to be recognised as the winner of the 2024 Canon Oceania Grants in the First Nations Category. This grant not only validates my commitment to Cypress Pine regeneration, but also empowers me to further my work in preserving our natural heritage in the Kimberley region. With this support, I am inspired to foster sustainable practices that promote ecological resilience of Country for future generations."

The Education category's recipient, Farm My School, transforms unused school land into market gardens that provide food to local communities and learning opportunities for students. The project utilises permaculture principles and has developed the Nourish Workshop Series, a free program aimed at teaching community members how to cook nutritious food produced from the market gardens. James McLennan, Co-Founder and Director, remarked, "Being the successful applicant for the 2024 Canon Oceania Grants Education Category means we'll now be able to achieve this."

Farmers for Climate Action (FCA) received the grant in the Environment category. This not-for-profit organisation works on advancing climate decarbonisation policies that benefit farmers and farming communities. FCA's resources and initiatives include the Climate Smart Farming Toolkit and online webinars that share sustainable agricultural practices. Walter Batt, Business Impact Director at FCA, said, "To Farmers for Climate Action, it tells us people all over Australia are keen to see more farmers connecting and spreading climate-smart agriculture practice across communities and commodities. We'll be proud to share those stories with the help of our brand-new Canon gear for hosting events."

Canon Oceania's Managing Director, Kotaro Fukushima, highlighted the impact of the grants: "Today, we celebrate the inspiring achievements of this year's Canon Oceania Grants Program winners, whose work is making an impact on communities across Australia. Guided by our Kyosei philosophy, we're committed to closing the technology divide, empowering more Australians to share their stories, connect with others, and build essential skills."

Since its inception 18 years ago, the Canon Oceania Grants Program has supported over 110 community organisations and schools across Australia and New Zealand, with more than AUD $550,000 in funding and product support.